Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Manga / Bleach

Go To

1%%Several terms here, like Soul Reaper, Zanpakuto, 13 Court Guards, Captain General, Vizard, Kido, Royal Special Task Force, Spiritual Pressure and etc are official translations from VIZ and should not be changed back, regardless of opinions on whether or not the fan translations sound better.
2
3[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bleach.png]]
4[[caption-width-right:350: [-Left to right: [[ActionGirl Rukia Kuchiki]], [[GentleGiant Yasutora 'Chad' Sado]], [[TheHero Ichigo Kurosaki]], [[StoicSpectacles Uryu Ishida]], and [[CloudCuckooLander Orihime Inoue]]. Oh, [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Kon]] (between Rukia and Chad).]]-]
5
6->''"We stand in awe at that which cannot be seen."''
7-->-- '''Rukia Kuchiki'''
8
9[[Characters/BleachIchigoKurosaki Ichigo Kurosaki]] would have liked to have been an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent. Unfortunately, his ability to see and hear ghosts ([[ImplausibleHairColor and his orange-colored hair]]) kept getting in the way of a normal life. This is all he knows of the spirit world until the day he encounters Rukia Kuchiki, a [[{{Shinigami}} Soul Reaper]] whose profession requires her to destroy evil spirits ("Hollows") and send good spirits ("Pluses" or "Wholes") to the afterlife. When Rukia is injured while trying to slay a powerful Hollow about to kill Ichigo and his family, she offers the boy a portion of her powers to defeat it in her place. Unfortunately, his abnormally-high amount of spiritual energy absorbs ''all'' of her power instead, forcing him to take up her duties until she can recover and return home. What follows are adventures within the realms of the spirit world and facing the dangers that produce them.
10
11Written by [[Creator/TiteKubo Noriaki "Tite" Kubo]], ''Bleach'' starts off as a quirky UrbanFantasy action-comedy, but soon becomes a much more standard [[{{Shonen}} Shonen]] [[FightingSeries Fightin' Anime]] with the start of the Soul Society [[StoryArc arc]]. In it, Rukia is arrested by her fellow Soul Reapers for the crime of transferring her powers to a human, and taken back to the afterlife ("Soul Society") to be executed. Naturally, Ichigo wants to mount a rescue. Training montages, {{Next Tier Power Up}}s and [[GambitRoulette ridiculously complicated plans]] ensue.
12
13That said, this change of direction has led to not only one of the most ludicrous dramatic moments in manga history, but many an [[Awesome/{{Bleach}} awesome moment]] as well, and its continued popularity speaks for itself. Hell, it even has ''[[TheMusical musicals]]''! For most of its run, it was one of the "Big Three" [[LongRunners long-running]] shonen manga/anime in serialization alongside ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Manga/OnePiece'', and it inevitably [[DuelingWorks gets compared to its]] colleagues, as well as ''Manga/DragonBall'' (which Kubo is inspired by) and ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' (which shared the same director, and also dealt with supernatural themes). It's also notable for having one of the largest {{Periphery Demographic}}s in the history of shonen manga -- it has not so much an EstrogenBrigade as an Estrogen ''Legion''.
14
15The manga was serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from August 7, 2001 to August 22, 2016, spanning 15 years and 686 chapters that were compiled into 74 volumes. The anime ran 7 1/2 years, from October 5, 2004 until March 27, 2012, after the completion of the manga's penultimate (Lost Agent) arc, giving way to the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' spinoff ''Manga/RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth''. Some plot points were further expanded upon in ''Literature/BleachWeDoKnotAlwaysLoveYou'' and ''Literature/BleachCantFearYourOwnWorld'' novels.
16
17In July 2018, Kubo released a one-shot spin-off manga called ''Manga/{{BURN THE WITCH|2018}}''; set in London, England and dealing with the Western branch of Soul Society.
18
19The anime remained an incomplete adaptation for years, ending where Chapter 479 of the manga does. On March 21st, 2020, it was confirmed on the [=AnimeJapan=] livestream that the anime would return with an adaptation of the final arc, Thousand-Year Blood War. The adaptation began airing on October 11, 2022 and is set for four cours.
20
21On August 8, 2021, ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' released "No Breaths From Hell" - a 73-page special chapter of ''Bleach'', helmed by Kubo, continuing after the ending of the series and beginning a new arc that involves the Soul Reapers fighting against the denizens of Hell.
22
23There are five manga story arcs expanded into seventeen anime story arcs, including the anime-original {{Filler}}:
24* The Agent of the Soul Reaper Arc (Volumes 1-8; episodes 1-20)
25* Soul Society Arc (Volumes 9-21)
26** Soul Society: The Sneak Entry Arc (Episodes 21-41)
27** Soul Society: The Rescue Arc (Episodes 42-63)
28* Bount Arc ({{Filler}}; episodes 64-109)
29* Arrancar Arc (Volumes 22-48)
30** Arrancar: The Arrival Arc (Episodes 110-131)
31** Arrancar: The Hueco Mundo Sneak Entry arc (Episodes 132-151)
32** Arrancar: The Fierce Fight arc (Episodes 152-167)
33* New Captain Shuusuke Amagai Arc ({{Filler}}; episodes 168-189)
34* Arrancar Arc (continued)
35** Arrancar VS Soul Reaper arc (Episodes 190-205)
36** 110 Years Back arc (Episodes 206-212)
37** Arrancar: Battle in Karakura arc (Episodes 213-229)
38* Zanpakuto: The Alternate Tale arc ({{Filler}}; episodes 230-265)
39* Arrancar: Deicide arc (Episodes 266-310)
40* 13 Court Guards Incursion Arc ({{Filler}}; episodes 311-342)
41* The Lost Agent Arc (Volumes 49-54; episodes 343-366)
42* The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc (Volumes 55-74; episodes 367-?)
43
44See the [[Recap/{{Bleach}} recap section]] for more.
45
46The English dub is licensed by Creator/VizMedia and aired on Creator/AdultSwim (later, Creator/{{Toonami}}) from September 8, 2006 and ended its run on November 1st, 2014.
47
48During its run, ''Bleach'' has had two {{live action adaptation}}s planned. [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-02-22/warner-develops-live-action-film-of-tite-kubo-bleach-manga On February 22, 2012, Warner Bros. Studios announced the licensing and planned development of a live-action Hollywood movie]] although plans for that [[DevelopmentHell seem to have fallen through the cracks]]. However, with the release of the final chapter on August 18, 2016, Tite Kubo himself confirmed [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-08-18/bleach-manga-gets-live-action-film-in-2018-starring-sota-fukushi/.105510 that a Japan-produced live-action film adaptation would be released some time in 2018]]. The movie, simply titled ''{{Film/Bleach}}'' was released in theatres on June 20, 2018 in Japan and distributed worldwide by {{Creator/Netflix}} on September 14, 2018.
49
50Speaking of movies, there are pages for all of them, both the live-action and four big-budget animated ones:
51* ''[[Anime/BleachMemoriesOfNobody Memories of Nobody]]'' (2006)
52* ''[[Anime/BleachTheDiamondDustRebellion The DiamondDust Rebellion]]'' (2007)
53* ''[[Anime/BleachFadeToBlack Fade to Black]]'' (2008)
54* ''[[Anime/BleachHellVerse Hell Verse]]'' (2010)
55* ''{{Film/Bleach}}'' (2018)
56
57''Bleach'' is amongst those few anime that earned its own [[DieForOurShip/{{Bleach}} Die For Our Ship]], [[HoYay/{{Bleach}} Ho/Foe Yay]] and [[FanNickname/{{Bleach}} Fan Nickname]] pages. It also has '''''twenty''''' [[Characters/{{Bleach}} character sheets]].
58
59It now has pages discussing one of its [[Platform/NintendoDS DS]] outings, ''VideoGame/BleachThe3rdPhantom'', and the LightNovels: ''[[Literature/BleachTheDeathSaveTheStrawberry The Death Save the Strawberry]]'', ''[[Literature/BleachWeDoKnotAlwaysLoveYou We Do Knot Always Love You]]'', and ''[[Literature/BleachCantFearYourOwnWorld Can't Fear Your Own World]]''.
60
61''[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Note: This article is not about a laundry detergent]] or Music/{{Nirvana}}'s first album, even though the franchise was named after the latter. It also (usually) has nothing to do with BrainBleach ("We stand in awe at that which cannot be '''un'''seen")''.
62
63'''Please revamp the main trope pages by moving all character tropes to their respective characters'''.
64
65[[AC:If you haven't read the manga, there are '''major spoilers''' below.]]
66----
67!!''Bleach'' is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for:
68* FlashStep: A favorite combat maneuver of most [[{{Shinigami}} Soul Reapers]], called 瞬歩 (''shunpo'') in Japanese. The Arrancar have their own move called [[GratuitousSpanish Sonido]][[note]][[AlternateCharacterReading Pronounced as the Spanish word for "sound"]], but given the kanji 響転, meaning something like "echo shift".[[/note]], the Quincy have their 飛廉脚 (''hirenkyaku'')[[note]]Meaning something like "flying pure foot"; the Viz manga translation renders it as "Flying Bamboo-Blind Slide".[[/note]], and the Fullbringers have [[GratuitousEnglish Bringer Light]].[[note]]though technically this name just denotes the light phenomenon associated with the movement, rather than the actual technique itself...it's weird.[[/note]] Despite the different names (and claims by various practitioners that their version is better), [[SeparateButIdentical the only apparent difference between them is the sound effect each one makes]], with the exception of Bringer Light which emits a green flicker. This is even {{Lampshaded}} by Gin Ichimaru in one of the omakes (before the introduction of Bringer Light).
69
70!!It also provides examples of:
71[[index]]
72
73* Bleach/TropesAToB
74* Bleach/TropesCToD
75* Bleach/TropesEToG
76** [[ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy/{{Bleach}} Explaining Your Power to the Enemy]]
77** [[FamousLastWords/{{Bleach}} Famous Last Words]]
78** [[Foreshadowing/{{Bleach}} Foreshadowing]]
79* Bleach/TropesHToK
80* Bleach/TropesLToN
81* Bleach/TropesOToR
82* Bleach/TropesSToT
83** [[SpoilerOpening/{{Bleach}} Spoiler Opening]]
84* Bleach/TropesUToZ
85** [[WhamEpisode/{{Bleach}} Wham Episode]]
86[[/index]]
87----
88''Show me your bankai, TV Tropes!''

Top